Here are our favorites from Thursday’s opening session of the 32nd Great American Beer Festival – and one place where the beer ran out early.

The fest can be a strange place. There were long lines at Russian River and Port Brewing/Lost Abbey – and their beers are worth waiting for – but none at all at the Pizza Port booths, pouring some of the finest beers around.

Maybe it was just luck, but at no point did we feel squeezed or crowded in the festival hall. On to the picks …

New Glarus Brewing’s Strawberry Rhubarb: We started the session here because New Glarus’s fantastic fruit and sour beers don’t last long. The reward: one of the best beers, if not the best, of the night. Sweet strawberries, tart rhubarb and wild fermentation result in a perfectly balanced sour, fizzy beer. Hoping to try the American Blackberry Sour at other sessions, since it wasn’t pouring when we visited.

Beachwood BBQ and Brewing’s Amalgamator IPA: One of the best IPAs we drank last night, from Long Beach, Calif. Owner/brewer Gabe Gordon described the Amalgamator as almost entirely hopped with Mosaic hops, “really dry, really clean with tropical fruit, endless. The best IPA we’ve ever made in our two and a half years of existence.”

Everything from AC Golden: Attention people at MillerCoors: package the IPL now. The India Pale Lager is exactly what it sounds like. There’s not much like it on the market and it sits at the intersection of hoppy and easy-drinking. If you haven’t bought Peche locally in bottles, here is your chance to try that, too.

Avery Brewing’s Uncle Jacob’s Stout: Adam Avery is pouring this huge 17.42 percent imperial stout – named for his great grand uncle who ran a Kentucky distillery – straight from the bourbon barrel. He’ll be doing it again Friday.

The Commons Brewery‘s Maybelle: One of the sleeper picks of our GABF fantasy team, The Commons out of Portland, Oregon, has a winner in Maybelle, a dry, citrusy Brett-fermented farmhouse with white grape and tropical notes. We sadly learned that the brewery entered seven beers in the competition instead of the maximum 10, denting our dreams of fantasy glory.

Almanac Beer Co.‘s Farmer’s Reserve No. 3: Two of our contributors recommended this new San Francisco brewery in their regional previews, so we were eager to check them out. The “farm to barrel brewery” uses ingredients from local farms to bring a sense of terroir to their beers. Check out the No. 3, is brewed with strawberries and nectarines.

Funky Buddha‘s booth: By the time we got there a couple of hours into the session, it was all gone. So the Oakland Park, Fla., brewery clearly is creating buzz. We’ll be back to try the Passion Fruit Berliner, Maple Bacon Coffee Porter and more.

Smog City Brewing Hoptonic IPA: This brewery was a pick of our SoCal correspondent Randy Clemens. Excellent IPA. Also check out the Groundwork Coffee Porter, which won gold last year in the coffee beer category when the Smog City brewer brewed it for Tustin Brewing Co.

Several from Schmaltz Brewing: We randomly stopped at Schmaltz’s endcap booth and ended up lingering, impressed with the Funky Jewbelation, RIPA on RYE and St. Lenny’s: The Immaculate Collaboration, the result of a holy union with Cathedral Square Brewery of St. Louis.

Six Rivers Brewing’s Chili Pepper Ale mixed with Raspberry Lambic: The pourer at the booth of the McKinleyville, Calif., brewery said the brewer urged blending these two. Boy, was he right. Hot mixed with sweet for a perfect balance.

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In Colorado, our pint glasses overflow with excellent beer. New breweries, new batches, festivals every other week. How lucky are we? First Drafts is The Denver Post's beer blog aimed at helping you keep tabs on the state's ever-expanding craft beer culture. We offer a mash of news, event coverage, homegrown stories, tasting notes and tips to help you imbibe. Expert drinker or homebrewer? Let us know what you're loving about Colorado's beer scene. Not sure exactly what a firkin is? No worries, let us be your guide. Go ahead. Belly up and drink it in!